We published a letter to the editor this week in which the writer focused on teachings of Jesus that are written about in the Bible.

The letter included extensive quotations from the Bible.

That letter came to us in response to other letters by a writer who says he speaks out about what he sees as wrongdoing in politics because that's what Jesus would do.

We'll be printing another letter in the next few days by another reader who was upset that we allowed anyone to engage in what he called “proselytization” on the letters page. This writer also uses his words to challenge the reasoning and message of the letter that upset him.

It's a perfect example how religion can be a difficult topic to handle for anyone who makes decisions about what gets printed on a newspaper's editorial page.

I have rejected letters that were essentially sermons about broad religious tenets on the grounds that they are not appropriate for a letters page. Someone once sent in a prayer for personal forgiveness that was moving, but didn't work as a letter to the editor.

In general, letters must have some connection to a current news topic, and they should be opinion-based.

The tricky part comes when a letter touches on religious beliefs as part of an opinion about some news topic.

In general, we've allowed those type of submissions to run. If we didn't we'd be ignoring the fact that religion does play a major role in politics and society in general.

We also tend to allow people to write responses to other letters that are published. In doing that, though, sometimes the original topic can get lost.

This is what happened with the religious letter that we printed earlier this week.

In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have approved the letter in the form it was written. I should have asked the writer to make the context of his message a little more transparent.

But in general I want the letters page to reflect the wide spectrum of opinion and perspective that's out there.

One day we may print a submission by someone who thinks there should be prayer in schools. The next day we may print an atheist's take on how religion has a corrupting influence on government.

It's not my place to say one of those opinions is more valid than the other, and I would hope that each of those writers would understand that.

Executive editor Jeremy Boyer's columns run Saturdays in The Citizen and he can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net